In December 2014 the long awaited publishing of the CIA Torture Report, on the treatment of detainees between the years of 2001 - 2006 was released. What followed in the immediate aftermath was mostly wide spread condemnation.

Do not be fooled by the conviction of Suleiman Abu Ghaith, al-Qaeda spokesman and Osama bin Laden's son in law. His successful prosecution in a civilian court does not mean all terrorists can be tried in this way. Military commissions such as those in Guantanamo Bay will continue to play a vital role.

As the situation in Syria grows worse and simultaneously more complicated day by day, the fears of observers of the conflict have become more focused on the foreign jihadists who have travelled to the war-torn country to take part in the fighting...

Its clear to see that as long as we continue to intervene in countries and create lawless regions our war on terror will keep on going as we provide the perfect setting for these extreme fascists to spread like a nasty disease

The last thing we need is to import sectarianism into our country. Al-Arifi may have done us all a favour by coming to the UK since it has focussed on the need for better due diligence to be undertaken and to make us all wake up to the fact that whilst Syria may seem a long way away, its impacts can so easily affect our community relations in our small island.

An anonymous source has finally stepped forward and offered an unmarked grave in Virginia so that Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body could be put to rest. But the entire episode is a powerful reminder of the importance of ritual and gestures, even in an era where we'd like to think that cold facts, data, and rationality always carry the day.